Not My Kid

January 9, 2025January 8, 2025 Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for OLWG #399, our three prompts
for this week are shown below. This my story.

Dave got the call in the middle of an important business meeting. Ordinarily he would silence his phone but not these days, not with his son Will in a coma. His wife Melanie might try to reach him.

Dave’s thoughts went back to that day. It was one of those freak accidents, the ones parents hear about but think, “Nah, that won’t happen to my kid”. Except it did.

Will was watching the senior class play a baseball game at school, sitting in the bleachers with a group of his fellow 9^th graders. The batter swung, slamming the ball and sending it careening into the stands. It hit Will smack in the middle of his forehead. He fell hard, losing consciousness. The school doctor raced over, quickly discerning Will needed more help than he was able to offer. He called 911 while someone else called the boy’s parents. Will was rushed to the hospital where he lapsed into a coma.

That was seven weeks ago.

Dave snapped back to reality; it was Melanie calling but by the time Dave answered the call, she’d left a voicemail: “I need you at the hospital …. now!” His wife’s voice was filled with an urgency he’d never heard before. Without wasting a precious second, Dave announced to everyone in the meeting room that he was needed at the hospital and quickly left.

Dave’s head was spinning with a legion of thoughts as he sped to the hospital. He pulled into the nearest parking space and ran to the entrance, thankful for the automatic doors. He ran down the hall toward Will’s room, a path he knew by heart. When he rounded the corner at the nurse’s station, he spotted Melanie on a chair outside Will’s room; she was weeping, her head in her hands. Dave walked straight to Melanie and knelt on the floor in front of her. Placing his hands on hers, he spoke softly. “Honey, I’m here. You’re not alone. Tell me what happened.”

Suddenly aware of Dave’s presence, Melanie looked up. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face mottled and wet with tears. “Oh, Dave! It’s our boy. It’s Will.” Melanie was so consumed with emotion she could barely get the words out. Dave pulled her up and held her close. Finally Melanie looked into Dave’s face and whispered. “He’s waking up. Will is waking up from his coma! Dr. Andrews said it could take some time but Will’s going to be OK.”

Dave and Melanie hugged each other tightly, both now crying tears of joy. Dr. Andrews came out of Will’s room and told them they could visit with Will for a few minutes, but just one at a time for now. Dave kissed the top of Melanie’s head and whispered “Go on, honey. You go first.”

Dave sat on the chair and closed his eyes; overcome with emotion, he whispered “Thank you, Jesus“. Then he lost it, crying like a baby.

NAR©2025
#OLWG

The three prompts this week are 1) tears not shed in sorrow; 2) you first; and 3)Jesus came back today. Our task is to choose one of them, choose all of them, or choose none of them and incorporate them into a story or poem.

This is “Jesus, Take The Wheel” by Carrie Underwood

OLWG#399- Show Biz

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